Moth time

Moths get a really bad name, but I think they easily rival our butterflies for beauty and certainly for diversity (and for difficulty of identification - although the next few are easy enough).

This is the Small Magpie - Eurrhypara hortulata, which feeds primarily on Nettle:

The Cinnabar moth - Tyria jacobaea - is one of the most readily identifiable moths and is dependant on Ragwort:

A word about Ragwort: Ragwort is often blamed for the deaths of horses and cattle. I have spoken to many local farmers and they are unanimous that all animals will avoid eating Ragwort if it is left to grow. If the plant is pulled from the ground and left to 'sweeten', then animals can't differentiate it from hay and will eat it. That's when deaths occur. Leave Ragwort alone and it won't cause problems to animals, and will continue to nurture insects such as moths, hoverflies and bees.

The Brimstone Moth - Opisthograptis luteolata - has a fascinating life-cycle which enables it to adapt to varying winter conditions. Sometimes it overwinters as a larva; at other times as a pupa, the emergence date being governed by the type of overwintering strategy. It can be found as an adult from April to October, with some evidence for three generations over 2 years. Foodplants are shrubs and bushes such as Hawthorn and Blackthorn.

The most frequent leaf-miner on my patch is the micromoth Stigmella aurella, which makes leaf-mines on Bramble (and occasionally, on Meadowsweet). This is the (3mm!) adult:

Tachinid flies are parasitic on moth and butterfly larvae. This one became lunch for a Dung Fly. It's tough out there.

For some reason, this cock Bullfinch took a fancy to my rear door. It repeatedly flew at the rear window and then returned to the hosepipe winch. Perhaps it thought it saw a competitor in its reflection.

More moths

As the warm nights continue, more moths are coming to light:

First, Common Carpet - Epirrhoe alternata alternata. Food plants are the bedstraw family: probably Cleavers in my case.

Then Pebble Prominent - Notodonta ziczac. Foodplant Willow. The side-view colouration is a wonderful camouflage if seen against wood and leaves, looking rather like a cut-off branch.

Also to light, the Dark Barred Twin Spot Carpet - Xanthorhoe ferrugata.


And this pale specimen that wouldn't open its wings when landed. This specimen has mystified the good and the great: work ongoing.

Last, but certainly not least, the Small Magpie - Eurrhypara hortulata. This is one of the so-called Micromoths, but is larger than many 'macromoths'. The separation into micro and macro is an accident of history, with all species in a certain book defining the 'macromoth' list and all others being micromoths, but some larger species were simply omitted from the first book.


All species on this page are new to me.